Jecheon: The nation's only natural products industry-themed festival opened in the central city of Jecheon on Saturday for a monthlong run. The 2025 Jecheon Korean Medicine Natural Product Industry Expo welcomed its first visitor in the morning at the Jecheon Oriental Medicine Expo Park, 116 kilometers southeast of Seoul. An opening ceremony in the afternoon featured speeches and a cultural performance.

According to Yonhap News Agency, North Chungcheong Province Governor Kim Young-hwan emphasized the significance of the event, stating that it is designed to promote the excellence of traditional Korean medicine and natural product industries. The governor highlighted the potential of these industries as future growth sectors and expressed optimism about North Chungcheong Province's emergence as a global hub for the natural products industry.

The expo, which runs through October 19, operates under the theme "Future with Natural Products, Meet a Better Future." It aims to showcase the value and potential of natural products, which include plants, animals, microorganisms, and their metabolic products obtained from nature. These products are considered a future high value-added industry due to their applications in everyday medicines, health foods, cosmetics, and herbal medicine products.

Organizers anticipate welcoming 1.52 million visitors, with participation from 286 related companies, including 69 international firms. The event features four themed exhibition halls. The main hall provides insights into the definition, value, history, and future of natural products, featuring a five-minute video on a large LED screen that explores the industry's future shaped by AI-based technology.

The expo also includes a hands-on experience hall offering daily acupuncture and moxibustion treatments for 280 visitors, along with free consultations. The industry hall highlights pharmaceuticals, health supplements, and cosmetics derived from natural products. An international exchange hall hosts promotional booths for research institutes and partner cities from home and abroad.

Outdoor spaces will feature a traditional herbal market with cultural performances and singing contests, along with a garden adorned with chrysanthemums and other seasonal flowers. The expo is open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through the closing day.